The ancients called the eagle the celestial bird because it flies high
with its eye fixed on the sun.
According to the myths of the birds they are older than the gods and to
them mankind is deeply indebted; for the hawk created man, the wren, and
not Prometheus, brought down fire for his use, the crow taught him
marital laws, while the eagle gave him the brew from the fountain of
song. Just why the eagle—who is no musician—should have interested
himself in this way, legend does not explain, but, as he is of majestic
appearance, and imperial in character, there can be no possible
objection to his acting as cup-bearer to the poets! They all like
him—or, at least, like to describe him. Tennyson says—
He clasps the crag with crooked hands
Close to the sun in lonely lands
Ring’d with the azure world he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls,
He watches from his northern walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
But the eagle takes part in the affairs of birds and beasts, as well as
in those of men, for, according to an oriental legend, in ancient times
beasts and birds were at war with each other. While victory was still
uncertain the owl withdrew from the winged army quite prepared to go
over to the enemy. But the eagle fought with such valorous prowess that
the birds were finally victorious. The owl, seeing this, flew back to
join them. But the eagle observed his movements, and forbade him ever
again to mix with his subjects or show his face to the sun.
Although the eagle is a bird of prey he is used as a national emblem on
Persian, Roman and United States coins. Indeed, the eagle is often used
for heraldic emblems, standards and various emblematic devices. The
eagle is cosmopolitan. The so-called bald-eagle takes three years to
complete its plumage; it is called the “black” eagle the first year, the
“gray” the second and the “bald” the third year, when the white plumage
on neck and head, which gives it the name, is complete. After shedding
its feathers in the spring, even the old birds assume the appearance of
youth, hence David speaks of the “youth which is renewed like the
eagle’s.” An unusual fact in reference to this bird is that the female
is said to be larger and braver than the male.
A story is told of a pair of eagles in the New York Zoological Park who
made a nest in the root of a tree, in a cavity of the ground and lined
it with moss. As no eggs were yet ready the birds brought a smooth round
stone to the nest on which they sat, male and female, on alternate days.
Some such habit as this may account for the idea of the ancients that
the eagle carried stones to her nest to facilitate the laying of her
eggs.
The eagle lives to be very old. It is not especially difficult to tame.
A young one caught in the Territory could not be bought. The Indian
woman who was taming it refused all offers. She said, “Ah-cha-fa-tona
wants young eagle, she not want white man’s money!”
“Old Abe”—named for Lincoln—was caught and tamed by soldiers during the
civil war. He went through the war delighted with battles. One of his
feathers, dropped on the battlefield, was framed and now hangs in
Washington.
Belle Paxson Drury.
[Illustration: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
(Charadrius squatarola).
½ Life-size.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.]
THE BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
(_Charadrius squatarola_.)
The Black-bellied Plover is quite cosmopolitan, though its range is
practically confined to the northern hemisphere, passing southward in
the winter to the West Indies and northern South America and breeding in
the far North. Not only is its range extensive, but also its list of
common or local names. Some of the better known of these are Whistling
Field Plover, May Cock, Beetle-head, Black-breast and Bottle-head. Its
large head has given it the name Bull-head and its large, brilliant and
expressive dark colored eyes, which in summer are surrounded by a white
ring, have led some of its admirers to call it the Ox-eye.
The Black-bellied Plover is grouse-like in appearance and differs from
all the other plovers in having a rudimentary hind toe. It varies
greatly in the color of its plumage, both with age and with the seasons.
As it stands upon the beach, decked in its summer plumage, it is a
striking and beautiful bird. As winter approaches its plumage assumes a
more somber hue and becomes a mixture of dark brown and gray above,
while below the plumage is white with lines and spots of dark brown on
the neck and breast.
This bird is one of the largest of the plover species. It will run
rapidly for a few yards and suddenly stopping will elevate its head and
closely survey its environment. The older birds are shy, but the younger
ones will quite readily respond to the call of the hunter and will
usually approach his decoys. Its call notes are of two kinds. One is
loud and penetrating and may be heard at a long distance. This call
consists of a number of distinct notes, the second of which is accented.
The notes of the other call are uttered in a low and satisfied tone as
if the bird were perfectly contented. Mr. George H. Mackay found much to
admire in the life of this Plover. He says: “There is something very
aristocratic in the bearing of the adult birds as you watch them
standing on the marsh with their heads erect, their black and white
plumage strikingly defined, and their large, dark, liquid eyes ever on
the alert for danger. With the yellowish green marsh grass for a
background, they make a most interesting study in black and white,
which, coupled with that clear penetrating note of alarm when danger is
discovered, cannot fail to impress one.”
When migrating it may fly alone or in flocks. At times the flocks will
assume a wedge-shaped or a crescent-like form. The latter seems to be
the more common form, and the ends of the crescent may point either
forward or backward. The solitary birds are more frequent in the
interior, while the flocks are more common near the sea coast. The slow
and measured stroke of the long wings is well fitted to a continuous and
prolonged flight. When tired from flying at sea it will rest on masses
of seaweed or float upon the water.
The Black-bellied Plover feeds largely on minute mollusks, shrimps,
worms, sea insects and on various larvae found in the marshes. It also
eats grasshoppers and late in the season, at the North, berries form a
large part of its diet. It is at this time that its flesh is most
eagerly sought by the connoisseur of game food. Food is gathered with a
quick stroke and from the surface, for the bird cannot probe for its
food as do the sandpipers.
This Plover is a tide bird, “seeking a large portion of its food on
those extensive sand flats left by the receding waters, which may be
adjacent to marshes where the grass is short, and which are interspersed
with barren places where there is no grass, also to uplands and fields
where the grass is scanty or closely fed down by sheep or cattle. It is
to such places that they like to resort when driven from their feeding
grounds on the sand flats by the incoming tide. They also frequent, at
such times, the crest and dry sand of the beaches and shoals; here they
remain until the tide has sufficiently ebbed to permit them again to
return to feed.”
The Black-bellied Plover gives but little attention to home building.
Its nest is a mere depression in the ground lined with grass and leaves.